


This Is The End

by Maniacalfreak



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Blind Ignis Scientia, Canonical Character Death, Drabble, I'm so sorry, Ten Years Later, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25122982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maniacalfreak/pseuds/Maniacalfreak
Summary: After ten long years in the crystal, Noctis is back and the chocobros all take the time to catch up, and it’s almost like Noctis never left. Almost.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	This Is The End

> "You grieve because something that once made you so blissfully happy has been snatched away from you. You grieve because someone you once loved so fiercely is gone and is never going to come back. And most of all, you _grieve_ because that person left a huge gaping hole in your heart and you don't know if it's ever going to be filled again." - Unknown

After ten long years in the crystal, Noctis is back and the chocobros all take the time to catch up, and it’s almost like Noctis never left - _Almost._

Gladio gives him shit for making them wait, just like he used to when he was late for training but Gladio’s voice is hoarse with restrained emotions and Noctis can hear the fondness in his tone. The disbelief and happiness shining in Gladio's warm, brown eyes were all to clear for him to see. Gladio's eyes had always been expressive, and Noctis always could read him like an open book. Gladio may come off as tough and flamboyant, but Noctis knew the real Gladio. So when Gladio clasps his shoulder and squeezes before playfully pushing him away, Noctis understands all the things Gladio is too gruff and proud to say aloud. 

Gladio refuses to leave his side and becomes the embodiment of a shield made flesh – shadows his every move and dogs his footsteps - and when they stray too far from town and get attacked by monsters lurking in the dark, Gladio is there, pushing Noctis behind him and shielding him with his body.

When the fight is over, Gladio is frantic with worry and almost breaks down in relief when he finds Noctis still standing there, real and unharmed behind him, and pulls him into a rough embrace. 

He refuses to fail Noctis a second time.

***

Prompto relives his disappointment when he gives Noctis the news that King’s Knight doesn’t work anymore since there is no one to maintain the servers after the world plunged into darkness, but Prompto has had 10 years to deal with it and shows Noct his collection of videogames he’s managed to collect over the years and shows him all the photos he’s taken.

He shows him pictures of Iris on a hunt they had taken together, and Noctis feels like he's lost more than he's gained these past ten years. He's got the power of the crystal coursing through his veins and little else to show for it, and seeing his friends now - aged and more experienced than him, and learning that Gladio's baby sister has grown into a confident and strong young woman?

He's missed so much, all the while he still feels like a teenager in a man's body.

Noctis and Prompto end up spending hours playing videogames on the couch with their shoulders touching and their legs tangled together and when they inevitably fall asleep while playing the game, it’s with Prompto cuddled into Noct’s side, clinging onto him like he’s afraid if he lets go for even a second his best friend will disappear again – and this time for good.

Prompto made an oath to Noct that he would be ever at his side, and it’s a promise Prompto intends to keep.

***

There are no words in existence to describe what Ignis is feeling when Prompto excitedly drags him over to an unknown visitor – and the words get caught in his throat as his eyes fill will tears when he hears the sound of Noctis’s voice for the first time in ten years. Ignis hears footsteps approach him, feels the air move as a warm body gravitates closer to him, and when a hand clasps his shoulder and pulls him away from the other two, Ignis weeps, horribly overwhelmed as Noctis pulls him into a hug.

Love and affection for his Prince build in his chest, in his lungs, blossoming and building a home in his heart as Noctis’s words crash over him like a wave crashing against the shore. “In the end, I might not have you at my side, but I’ll always have you in my heart.”

And not for the first time, Ignis wishes he had his sight back if only to see Noctis one more time and commit his eye color, the way his hair would stick up every which way, and every curve and edge of his face to memory. Ignis makes up for it by lifting a hand to Noctis's face and relearns the shape of his face by touch alone, and weeps when he realizes that it doesn't match the image of him he's held close all these years.

And Ignis promises himself that he’ll do everything in his power to remain at Noctis's side, until the very last second, because even after all this time, the one thing he never wanted was for Noctis to feel alone.

**

The long trek back to Insomnia to take back their home is fraught with nostalgia and bittersweet memories. 

Not all of them bad, and now more than ever they cling to the memories of an easier life, filled with laughter and good times, where they were young and carefree and didn't know what was waiting for them in the future. Their hearts were filled with dark storm clouds, Noctis's confession leaving the bitter taste of ash in their mouths. His calling as the King of Light was to purge their star of the scourge and bring back the light of dawn, but doing so will cost him his life.

They try to prolong it for as long as hey could, traversing their old haunts, bringing Noctis to his old fishing hole by Hammerhead, and even that felt like saying goodbye. They were fighting a losing battle. You can't fight fate. Noctis's destiny has been predestined, written in the stars long before any of them were born and it only took them losing Noctis the first time to realize that the most precious commodity in the universe was _time_. The only thing that they wanted more than anything was _more time._

They only just got Noctis back, and it must be the gods playing a cruel joke because they have wished more times then they could count to be able to see Noctis again, even if it was only one last time.

The gods must have heard them because they get Noctis back for one day.

And when the fighting is done, they are left standing, watching as the sun rises and a new age begins. They know that it's over, and they grieve because they all know that this time, Noct isn’t coming back.

And when they make their way to the throne room, the floodgates open, and they break down, crying and screaming at the heavens and they halfway hope that if Noctis could hear them on his way to heaven, that he would turn around and come back to them.

And who knew that carrying a body would weigh so heavily between three people. The weight of the loss was too heavy to bear.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a lot shorter than the stuff I usually write, and I intended this to be relatively short because I have no self-control and this would have turned out to be another 5k+ fic and I need to learn how to write short length stories. So this is my attempt at a drabble. I hope I didn't fail. XD
> 
> This also isn't my usual writing style. I've tried to keep things briefer and simple, so let me know what you think!
> 
> And yes, I know, the ending is a little cheesy but I couldn't help it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it! Kudo's and comments are loved! <3


End file.
